I’ve been living in Japan for a few years and I’ve been greatly enjoying the perks of owning a smart-phone in this country. You see, they’ve had electronic wallet systems here for quite a while. Initially it was just in specially made cards the same size of a credit card.

Soon enough, credit card companies and banks began to offer cards equipped with this technology.

And finally came the cell phone companies, for whom it was a simple thing to add one more bit of technology to their already remarkable phones.

As typical night with my girlfriend here in Japan? Swipe my phone at the turnstile at the train station, swipe my phone at the vending machine for a drink, get off at Yokohama and swipe my phone again at the exit, meet up with my girl and head over to Starbucks where I swipe my phone again for payment. And all without having to dig for change.

I’m coming back home soon on an honorable discharge and I hope that iPhone 5 will have digital wallet support. It’s a convenience that I’d like to keep.